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Credit & Copyright: Lauri Kangas
Explanation:
Photographed on
March 13th from Caledon, Ontario, Canada,
a bright Moon was surrounded by this lovely halo.
Planet Jupiter and stars Procyon, Castor, and Pollux
also appear within the circle of lunar light.
Castor
and Pollux, twins in Greek Mythology, are appropriately
bright stars of the constellation
Gemini
while Procyon is the brightest star in
Canis Minor.
The circular halo is produced by
six-sided ice crystals
in thin high-altitude clouds, which refract the moonlight
and give the halo a characteristic radius of 22 degrees.
For persistent skygazers
such
apparitions are relatively
easy to see when the Moon and
Sun
illuminate planet Earth's skies.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Moon - halo - Gemini - Jupiter
Publications with words: Moon - halo - Gemini - Jupiter
See also: